The long awaited blog post

¡Yo lo sé, I know! To my shame it has been almost 6 months since I posted our last blog.  Apologizes are not enough. Instead, I vow to try to do much better over the rest of our time here in Mexico so that you remain informed and do not feel neglected.

Much has happened over the past six months.  To try to write about it all would be long and boring.  Therefore, we will give you the “CliffsNotes” version.

Gone and Back Again

Maykon, the student from Honduras, who arrived shortly after we had arrived in Matachi, went back to his county in May due to some personal reasons.  Fortunately, those issues have been resolved and last week he was able to join us again.  We are thankful to have Maykon back.  He has a unique way of making people laugh and brings much excitement to our community.  He rejoins our other two students, Gustavo and Heber.  Oh! And Aleesa has now joined the staff and is doing a wonderful job.

Hello Chihuahua!

Before arriving in Matachi we knew that we would be looking to move the school to the city of Chihuahua and Matachi would become a secondary location.  Therefore, back in mid-April we began the process of looking for a suitable building in Chihuahau to rent.  We looked at several before finally deciding on a building that is about 10 blocks from downtown Chihuahua.  It is a wonderful location for us and is located in a very nice community.  Thanks to a grant that provided half of our yearly rent, we were able to move into the building in mid-August.  And we are prayerfully hopeful that the rest of the funds will become available to us through other resources that Hillside Missions Organization in Richmond, VA is currently soliciting.

Significant changes

Our move to Chihuahua has brought with it several changes to how we live in community.  We now find ourselves having access to so many resources that it was a bit overwhelming at first.  I (Andy) have gone from being the primary teacher to being one of 6 different teachers.  Academically, the level of study here at the school has increased tremendously.  In terms of practical ministry, we now have access to a number of different ministries.  Already we have been involved in evangelistic efforts with a local church, and we expect to soon participate in some unique ministries for children, for women, and for drug addicts and alcoholics.  We are also learning about horticulture and renewable resources and how we can use them on the mission field.

In fellowship

One of the challenges of living in Matachi was the limited access to other Christian communities.  While never truly alone, there were certainly times that we as a community felt lonely and disconnected from the rest of the Christian community.  Certainly for missionaries, this is not uncommon and we now have a better idea of the struggles that missionaries go through.  Image what William Carey went through in India during those seven years before he started seeing the fruits of his ministry and people starting trusting in Christ for their salvation!  Being in Chihuahua and having greater access to Christian communities is something that we will no longer take lightly.  We are very thankful that we have found a church that we can regularly join in fellowship.  The church is called Viento Fresco meaning “Fresh Wind”, and it certainly has been a fresh wind to our spirits.  In addition, we are excited about the opportunities to visit and share with other churches in Chihuahua and encourage their involvement in missions.

Not forgotten

Although we are no longer in Matachi on a daily basis, we still have the building there.  We envision this property as becoming a kind of retreat center that the churches here in Chihuahua can have access to.  Perhaps in this way, we can promote more awareness of the needs of the churches in that area and provide more opportunities to support and assist those churches in their outreach efforts.  We also envision Matachi as being our primary base in the summers so that we can put into practice what we have learned.

Our Needs

It is never easy for us to express our own needs.  We truly do not like putting the burden on others.  On the other hand, we recognize that God does move the hearts of individuals to support us.  For that we are very thankful and grateful.  This has been a humbling experience for us and we are always amazed when God provides exactly what we need.  Should we really be that surprised when God comes through for us time and time again?  Maybe not, but on the other hand we do not want to lose that sense of amazement when He does come through for us.  For those interested in finding out more about how you can help the ministry here in Mexico, we ask that you take a look at the “current needs” page on this blog which list some specific ways in which people can help the school.

M1 for Mexico

The M1 for Mexico project is going well.  We have received several knitted and crocheted items to be distributed to the people of Matachi.  We will be doing the first distribution in November.  Therefore, if you have items to donate, they may be taken to New Life Baptist in Greencastle until the end of October.   For more information about M1 for Mexico, go to the “M1 for Mexico” page on this blog.

The Sounds of Matachi

This blog is dedicated to the number of distinct sounds that we have grown to enjoy, ignore, or tolerate.

The following videos are only sound (no pictures) allowing you to use your imagination at times when listening to the sounds.  So turn up the volume or plug in some headphones and enjoy these sounds.

The first sound that you will here is a very funny conversation that we had at the dinner table.  These types of conversations are typical and frequent.  Context: Maykon has a pair of pajama pants that features the Grinch. He wears them quite often.  We had an American visiting that said to him "feliz cumpleaños" (happy birthday) whenever he saw him wearing the pants. Maykon had no idea why he was saying this until he realized, much later, that the greeting was supposed to be, "feliz navidad" (Merry Christmas). Also, for a few days the students had been ministering to a group of men from Guatemala who had been waiting for an opportunity to enter the US.  They had a rough time prior to getting to this point and their travels into the US were not going to be any easier (DISCLAIMER: We have no knowledge of these men having actually entered the US or the means by which they entered).  Our students began to talk about Gustavo's decision to sing a "happy" song with the men which is translated "weary of the way." This "happy" song succeeded in bringing all of the men to tears.

The next two videos are of the sounds of our typical devotion time.  We typically sing one song in English (to help them learn English) and one song in Spanish.  It is not a studio quality recording, but it is enjoyable enough to listen to more than once.  The second recording is of Maykon reading a Scripture passage, Gustavo reading Oswald Chamber's "My Utmost for His Highest" devotion for the day, and Heber praying. Can anyone tell what passage Maykon is reading?

There are a number of sounds within the school that have become very familiar to us.  There are essential sounds such as the sound heard when replacing the jug for drinking water and the sound of the coffee pot. There is also the sound of someone walking up and down the metal stairs and the sounds from the courtyard while the laundry is being taken down. The squeaking sound is the clothesline.  Can you hear the clothespins being thrown into the basket? Finally, there are the sounds of the various doors here at the school.  Let's just say that no one can go anywhere without everyone else knowing.

The last group of sounds are sounds that are heard on a weekly, and sometimes daily basis.  The first is Victor who rings a bell to alert people that he is coming down the street.  He is important to us because he is the person who delivers gas for hot water and cooking.  Victor's route brings him to Matachi twice a week on Mondays and Fridays.  The second is the sound of the bell at the Catholic church.  It is rung several times a day on Sunday and is sometimes rung during the week when there are funerals or some kind of special event.  It always rings several time in a row numbering up to 60 times.  How many times do you count in this recording?  The last sound is a sound that we are trying to learn to tolerate.  Our neighbors own a hardware store.  One of their special items in the store are cement bricks.  They have a machine on the other side of our wall that makes these bricks.  They like to get started early in the morning around 7:30am and usually continue to until late in the afternoon.  Rarely do we get a break from this sound.

We hoped you have enjoyed this sampling of the sounds that we experience here in Matachi.  There are several others that are not included because of the difficulty of trying to record them.  They include roosters at all times of the day, cows mooing in the middle of night, the sound of horses' hooves outside our window, and the strange sound of various birds giving mating calls.